Redeemer Lutheran Church (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) of Gorham and Sanford, Maine, welcomed Gabriel Strawn as their new pastor following his ordination and installation on Saturday, Aug. 17. The son and grandson of Lutheran pastors, Strawn grew up in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, just west of Minneapolis. He spent three years working for the National Lutheran Outdoors Ministry Association at Camp Omega in Waterville, MN, where he served as a counselor and administrator. He is a 2019 graduate of Bethany Lutheran College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and received his Masters of Divinity from Concordia Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, on April 24, 2024. He previously served as a vicar in Tucson, AZ.
Strawn’s father, Rev. Paul Strawn, preached from the Second Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy at the ordination service. Rev. Robert Beinke, President of the New England District of the LC-MS, presided over Rev. Gabriel Strawn’s installation. Ministers from across New England (and beyond) attended the joyous occasion, and church organist Bob Miller delighted all present with organ voluntaries and hymns. A reception and celebration followed at the Old Robie School in Gorham.
Rev. Strawn looks forward to meeting residents of Southern Maine and inviting them to receive the Lord’s gifts of the Word, Life, and Salvation where he has promised to give them to his people at Redeemer at 410 Main Street in Gorham and 1725 Main Street #9 Sanford, ME 04073. “This is truly an honor and the culmination of many gracious gifts I have been given from the caring hands of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I very much look forward to proclaiming the Word to all who have ears to hear in southern Maine.”
Pastor Strawn and his wife, Jennifer, and two children will reside in Alfred. Redeemer’s previous pastor, Timothy Sandeno, retired from full-time pastoral service in May 2024. He and his wife, Lisa, have retired to Minnesota where they look forward to spending time with their first grandchild.